NEWS

2006

December - DECK THE HULLS!

Many thanks to everyone who helped with the annual Fantasy of Lights parade on Tempe Town Lake last Saturday and especially to Louise for providing all the materials and guidance. We had a well-lit boat of paddlers including Sharon, Eric, Louise, Doris, Jan, Dan, Tyman, Naresh to name a few and the view from the dock was, well, enlightening! Thank you all.

October - AUTUMN OF THE DRAGON

Our tradition October event, the Autumn of the Dragon was held on Tempe Town Lake this year on Saturday  October 7th from 10am to 2pm. We had a series of dragon boat related events and paddling clinics using our boats and those of our outrigger friends, and attracted many new paddlers and members.

We  followed this up on Sunday Oct 8th, with a hugely successful party and fundraiser at Casino Arizona featuring Hawaiian dancers and may other events.

HAIL TEMPE, ARIZONA!

And Hail the 3rd Arizona Dragon Boat Festival

The Arizona Dragon Boat Association would like to thank everyone who helped organize, paddle in and visit the 3rd Arizona Dragon Boat Festival this weekend. Chairperson Eric Tang and his committee members put together a weekend of highly organized racing and entertainment that not even the March Madness we call Arizona weather could dampen it....

And you thought we paddled in the desert?

The weather was a challenge on Sunday, with hail falling on Tempe Town Lake around 8am, but the races went on and the paddling was fast...Sunday times were a lot faster than Saturday and produced some memorable close finishes.

Results are on the Festival Website.

And finally, please spare a thought for the committee who, on Sunday night, spent three hours talking about next year's festival.  We hope to see you all here in our even more improved fourth year. Watch this site for the details.....

January - CHINESE NEW YEAR
We took one of the boats over to the Chinese Cultural Center as part of Chinese Week this weekend. Thanks to all who manned the booth and handed out our AZDBA and Festival flyers and to the Gila Dragons for all their maintenance work last weekend. Some of the Gilas are pictured left, Sunday, at the center.

2005
October - BO(U)LDER NEWS
It's with huge sadness that our president, bow light and friend Deb Nastro has announced her move to Colorado and will be unable to carry on as AZBDA president. The AZDBA will find it hard to fully express our gratitude for the hard work and effort she has put into every aspect of paddling in Arizona over the last few years and we wish you all the best in your new position. We look forward to seeing you every few months during visits back and Debs, there is always an open seat on any boat for you. Our Vice-President Ronnie Sebastian has agreed to accept the open position of President of the AZDBA and takes over immediately.

August - AUTUMN OF THE DRAGON PARADDLE

Thanks to everyone that attended the Paraddle at the lake on October 2nd. We took a boat out, ate (courtesy of more food than any of us could finish) and found some great new paddlers!

Thanks to all who helped setup and clean up!

March -  Our new boats have arrived, courtesy of a joint effort between the AZDBA and our wonderful friends at The Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, who helped us with the delivery from Taipei, Taiwan. See the pictures and read all about the outstanding dedication ceremony shortly...…

2004

October 16 – The Gila Dragons are heading to the Las Vegas Exhibition  in October (TBC)

September 25 – The Gila Dragons are heading to the The 9th Annual Northern California International Dragon Boat Championships and Festival in San Francisco

July 31 – The Gila Dragons and Kura Okami  are heading to the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival

June 28 – Our newly elected president Debbie Nastro has just returned from a three week tour of Asia with the San Francisco Dragon Warriors. The highlights were three Dragon Boat festivals and this appearance in the local newspaper! Translations appreciated...

May 7 - Congratulations to the Kura Okami, from the City of Tempe for becoming overall champions at the Laughlin Dragon Boat Festival!  They came first out of 46 teams – congratulations again!

April 10 – Three teams from Arizona (Gila Dragons, Eclectic and Kura Okami) are traveling to the Laughlin Dragon Boat Festival.

March 22 - The AZDBA would like to thank everyone who made the Inaugural Arizona Dragon Boat Festival a success.
The board, the committee, the race organizers FMG, vendors and sponsors all deserve a huge pat on the back, but the 47 teams and 1000 paddlers who turned out for a weekend of competition deserve our deep gratititude for being at the first dragon boat festival in Arizona. See you all next year.